On-demand control of terahertz and infrared waves

Researchers from the University of Geneva and the University of Manchester have confirmed experimentally the theory of very strong magneto-optical resonance in graphene. The ability to control infrared and terahertz waves using magnetic or electric fields is one of the great challenges in physics that could revolutionise opto-electronics, telecommunications and medical diagnostics. A theory from 2006 predicts that it should be possible to use graphene - a monoatomic layer of carbon atoms- in a magnetic field not only to absorb terahertz and infrared light on demand but also to control the direction of the circular polarisation. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the University of Manchester have succeeded in testing this theory and achieved the predicted results. The study, to be published , shows that the scientists found an efficient way to control infrared and terahertz waves. It also shows that graphene is keeping its initial promises, and is making its way to be the material of the the future, whether on earth or in space. "There exist a class of the so-called Dirac materials, where the electrons behave as if they do not have a mass, similar to the light particles, the photons", explains Alexey Kuzmenko, a researcher in the Department of Quantum Matter Physics in UNIGE's Science Faculty, who conducted this research together with Ievgeniia Nedoliuk.